Resources, Budget and Finance Fundamentals and Foundations for Court Leaders

1. Resources, Budget and Finance Fundamentals and Foundations for Court Leaders National Association For Court Management

2. Exercise 1 - optional warm-up exercise • What does “budgeting” mean to you? • What is the purpose of the budget process? • What do you expect to accomplish through the budget process?

4. Agenda • Context of Court Funding • Basics of Public Sector Budgeting • The Budget Process • Trends in Public Sector Budgeting

5. Resources, Budget and Finance Fundamentals Context of Court Funding

6. Characteristics of Public Sector Funding • Public expectations • Era of structural deficits • Trends limiting available resources • Shifts in budgeting philosophies • No “profit margin” yardstick • Level or workload is not related to level of revenues

7. How is Judiciary funding different? • No authority to raise revenues • Funding level set by legislative branch • But what to do and how to do it is prerogative of the judiciary • Separation of powers - budget negotiations between constitutional co-equals

8. Separation of Powers and Inherent Powers • Concept of Inherent Power • Uses and limitations of the inherent powers doctrine for: • Resource allocation • Resource Acquisition • Accountability • Discretion – wise use; just because you can does not mean you should

9. Exercise 2 What examples can you provide of these phenomenon? • Has your jurisdiction experienced limitations in revenues? • How have public expectations about performance impacted your court? • Are there examples of other branches attempting to control or influence how the court operates?

10. Resources, Budget and Finance Fundamentals Basics of Public Sector Funding

11. Typical Budget Formats • Line Item budgeting • Program budgeting • Zero Base budgeting • Lump Sum budgeting

12. Budget Cycle

13. Building a Budget Request • Base budget • Adjustments • Incremental budget request • Re-allocating base budget resources

14. Sources of Revenue for Courts Typical sources of revenue for courts: • General Fund Appropriation • Cost Reimbursement • Program Reimbursement • Block Grants • Grants

15. Resources, Budget and Finance Fundamentals The Budget Process

16. Building a Budget A court budget should: • Be responsive and persuasive to court purposes and vision • Be responsive and persuasive to court goals and objectives • Demonstrate the identification and diagnosis of court budgetary and performance problems

17. Monitoring Expenditures and Revenues • Why Monitor Expenditures and Revenues? • To be responsive to and consistent with the court’s role and vision • To implement budget goals and objectives • To identify and diagnose budgetary and performance problems

18. Monitoring Expenditures and Revenues • Methods of monitoring: • Exception reporting • Cost accounting • Spreadsheet • Full transaction detail

19. Importance of credibility • The funding body, budget analysts, and public must perceive the court spends funds allocated to it wisely: • Spend money on what you say you will • Know the status of both expenditures and results on a real time basis • Evaluate practice and programs for efficiency and effectiveness • Stay on top of what is working and what isn’t and what needs changing

20. Importance of credibility • The funding body, budget analysts, and public must perceive the court spends funds allocated to it wisely: • Answer queries honestly and forthrightly • Be a “Team player” both as to goals and priorities and working with other justice system entities • Consider regular information briefing sessions for funding authority

21. Importance of credibility Skill in: • Preparing • Presenting, and • Advocating the court’s budget • In writing and • In person

22. Importance of Personal Relationships • With budget analysts • With the funding body • With support groups of court programs (constituents, service providers, etc.) • With the community • With the public and media

23. Resources, Budget and Finance Fundamentals Trends in Public Sector Budgeting

24. Expectations from Funding Bodies • Fixed ceiling and base line budgeting as the starting point • Budgeting for outcomes • Setting measurable outcomes for accountability

25. Expectations from Funding Bodies • Setting of Priorities—either by the court or “them” • Expectations that courts will “partner” in requests for new funds • Imposition of “efficiency” reductions in baseline budgets

26. Greater Budget Discretion • Lump Sum Budgeting • Carry forward across fiscal years • Use of special funds

27. Concluding Summary • Third branch – independence and responsibility • Authority, limitations, and discretion • Credibility, credibility, and credibility

28. Discussion and Feedback • Based on what you heard today: • What is one thing you will do differently when you get to work tomorrow? • What is one thing you need to learn how to do, or do better? • What is one relationship you need to build, or repair, to improve your budget success?